TUPELO – A U.S. Department of Labor grant will fund a new

workforce training and development program tailored for Mississippi’s $4 billion furniture industry.

The two-year, $500,000 grant will be used for a specialized program administered by Mississippi State University, in collaboration with Itawamba Community College and Tupelo-based Community Development Foundation.

The program was announced Thursday by officials from the schools, along with local business and community leaders.

Officials said money will fund training programs at the Advanced Education Center in Tupelo and area WIN Job centers, and on site at the furniture manufacturers. The program is free on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“Ninety-five percent of the state’s furniture-manufacturing industry is located in Northeast Mississippi, representing some 200 manufacturers and 22,000 jobs and some 75 percent of the furniture-manufacturing suppliers, so you can see that this area and this type of program is very important to us in this area and this state,” said MSU researcher Liam Leightley.

Mississippi State’s Franklin Furniture Institute began two years ago surveying needs of furniture manufacturers, with 165 companies giving their input.

From that inquiry, the industry’s greatest needs were identified as ergonomics, health and safety, leadership, motivation and performance management.

“We developed the program based on what they told us,” said Leightley, who is the principal investigator for the project.

Todd Beadles, the Community Development Foundation’s director of work force development and training, said the program is designed to improve employee attitudes, create higher retention rates, lessen absenteeism and improve efficiency. Getting all the parties to work together was the most logical thing to do, he said.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://www.djournal.com